Seller of cell phones comes off the road and back to Syracuse with a new store

David Lassman / The Post-StandardTim O'Connor is the owner of the Wireless Zone store at Westvale Plaza in Solvay.

Syracuse, NY -- Tim O’Connor no longer has to phone home all week.

That’s because all week, he’s near home, selling phones.

“No more traveling, just sales and service for the local community selling Verizon Wireless phones and Verizon FiOs,” said O’Connor, in his newly acquired Wireless Zone/Verizon Wireless store in Westvale Plaza on West Genesee Street in Solvay.

O’Connor goes back old-school in the cellular telephone business. He started selling the chunky, brick-like cell phones that were all the rage in 1986, from Radio Shack at what used to be Penn Can Mall (now Drivers Village) in Cicero.

“I sold my first cell phone at Penn Can mall 25 years ago, when service was a buck a minute incoming and outgoing,” said O’Connor. “We also sold those nine-foot satellite dishes.”

Over the last decade, he’s been on the road, selling for wireless companies Nextel and Clearwire, most recently, heading to Portland, Ore., Chicago, Philadelphia and Manhattan, among his destinations.

“It would be a 4 a.m. wakeup call on Monday to go to Hancock (airport) and get home Friday night or Saturday morning then coach (youth) basketball,” said O’Connor. “It’s a lot of Marriott reward points.”

But not so many points with the family. So O’Connor switched it up, bought the Wireless Zone franchise — Wireless Zone is Verizon’s largest franchisee — and is a happy cell seller.

The FiOs service plans — for home-phone, television and Internet services — has been an instant hit, said O’Connor. Best Buy installed a 60-inch TV in the store, and it’s getting a lot of customer attention.

“It’s an instant conversation piece,” said O’Connor, who is liking his new stay-near-home job.

Tops brings gasoline to B’ville

Tops Friendly Markets is fueling its presence in Central New York.

The Buffalo-based chain last week started building a gas station at its store in Baldwinsville, the first fuel service offered by a major supermarket chain in the Syracuse market.

The Baldwinsville Tops on Downer Street will also be getting a major renovation, said Frank Curci, Tops’ president and chief executive officer.

“Not only will shoppers see major changes in the Baldwinsvillle store, they’ll also be offered additional savings by filling up at the pumps,” said Curci.

Katie Mckenna of Tops said this could be just the first fueling station at Syracuse-area Tops stores.

“We are always looking for opportunities to bring fuel to our stores and we’re definitely looking for opportunities to bring fuel to more locations in the Syracuse area,” said McKenna.

Tops has fueling stations — and fuel-savings programs — at 36 of its 134 full-service supermarkets, including in Auburn and Ithaca. No other major supermarket chain that operates in Central New York offers similar services, although Price Chopper offers a fuel-rewards program, in association with some Sunoco gas stations, for discounts.

Express checkout

The high-end furniture manufacturer and retailer L. & J.G. Stickley Inc. will be opening a new Stickley Furniture store — down south.

The Manlius-based company this month closed on a property in Charlotte, N.C., where Stickley will open a new retail outlet around mid-August, with a grand opening scheduled for Labor Day weekend.

It’s part of Stickley’s strategy to expand its retail presence in North Carolina, home to other furniture manufacturers.

The 36,052-square-foot building opened in 2004 as a furniture showroom for a company that later filed for bankruptcy protection.

Stickley already has a Charlotte showroom that will remain open, the company said. The new store will carry Stickley products and other lines.

“At a time when many furniture manufacturers and retailers are closing their doors or reducing their footprints, we feel blessed to be in a position to expand and plan for future growth,” said Aminy Audi, president and CEO of Stickley. “The Charlotte showroom is the next step toward strengthening our North Carolina region, where we see tremendous potential.”